DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON SECTION 309
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON SECTION 309: DECRIMINALIZATION OF ATTEMPT TO COMMIT SUICIDE CRITICAL ANALYSIS
FAISAL KHAN
BA LLB-2012, SEC-C
INTRODUCTION
I will start my paper by asking a general and simple question that a person who is committing suicide is a criminal or a victim. Suicide means deliberate termination of one’s own physical existence or self-murder. It is an act of voluntarily taking one’s own life. Under Indian law suicide is a punishable offence. Section 309 of Indian Penal code (IPC) says “Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence shall be punished with simple imprisonment for term which may extend to one year [or with fine, or with both].”
While approximately one million people die by suicide worldwide1, more than one lakh persons (1, 18,112) in the country lost their lives by committing suicide during the year 2006. This indicates an increase of 3.7per cent over the previous year’s figure (1, 13,914). The number of suicides in the country during the decade (1996-2006) has recorded an increase of 33.9 per cent (from 88,241 in 1996 to 1, 18,112 in 2006).2
It is unfortunate that attempt to commit suicide in Indian law is an offence under penal statue and who so ever attempt to suicide is punishable under section 309 of IPC. It is interesting to know that suicide as such is not a crime under IPC its only attempt to suicide which is punishable. So it is only when person fails in his attempt then only he is punished. Perhaps this is the only offence where an alleged perpetrator after successfully committing an offence would escape from the clutches of law forever and will only be punished when the offence is half done. A point to think is that a person who is committing suicide has no fear of death therefore the punishment of one year simple imprisonment has no
FAISAL KHAN
BA LLB-2012, SEC-C
INTRODUCTION
I will start my paper by asking a general and simple question that a person who is committing suicide is a criminal or a victim. Suicide means deliberate termination of one’s own physical existence or self-murder. It is an act of voluntarily taking one’s own life. Under Indian law suicide is a punishable offence. Section 309 of Indian Penal code (IPC) says “Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence shall be punished with simple imprisonment for term which may extend to one year [or with fine, or with both].”
While approximately one million people die by suicide worldwide1, more than one lakh persons (1, 18,112) in the country lost their lives by committing suicide during the year 2006. This indicates an increase of 3.7per cent over the previous year’s figure (1, 13,914). The number of suicides in the country during the decade (1996-2006) has recorded an increase of 33.9 per cent (from 88,241 in 1996 to 1, 18,112 in 2006).2
It is unfortunate that attempt to commit suicide in Indian law is an offence under penal statue and who so ever attempt to suicide is punishable under section 309 of IPC. It is interesting to know that suicide as such is not a crime under IPC its only attempt to suicide which is punishable. So it is only when person fails in his attempt then only he is punished. Perhaps this is the only offence where an alleged perpetrator after successfully committing an offence would escape from the clutches of law forever and will only be punished when the offence is half done. A point to think is that a person who is committing suicide has no fear of death therefore the punishment of one year simple imprisonment has no